Fever
by Axelrocks
Summary: AU after Season 3 (Has nothing to do with the sickness in Season 4). Daryl Dixon had always been a healthy man. Even as a child, he rarely got sick and that had been a miracle considering the shithole he and his family had lived in. He supposed he had that period of his life to thank for making his immune system so resilient. Much help that was now.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is kind of experiment. The idea came to me last night while I was trying to sleep and I immediately jotted it down. It's kind of a crossover with World War Z. I say kind of because the only thing that I use from that movie is the fact that the walkers only go after people who are healthy. They are still the same walkers from TWD otherwise. They don't run super fast and they don't just take a bite out of their victims. I've only seen WWZ once and I'm pretty sure that you had to be terminally ill for them to not notice you, well in this story one can just come down with the flu and be invisible to them. This story is also AU from season 3. Everything in Season 3 happens, except the Governor is dead in this story and Sasha, Tyreese and Karen are now running Woodbury. I hope that all makes sense and if it doesn't, feel free to message me or something. It's also not angsty at all, so that's a good thing, too. Well for me, it is. There is only so much sadness you can read. I hope some of you enjoy this, I am very nervous to post it. I don't know why. So, let me know what you think!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Part One**_

Daryl Dixon had always been a healthy man. Even as a child, he rarely got sick and that had been a miracle considering the shithole he and his family had lived in. He supposed he had that period of his life to thank for making his immune system so resilient.

Being healthy and strong over ninety-nine percent of the time had been one of the only good things to come out of being a Dixon.

Much help that was now.

The apocalypse had started, the dead rose and started eating people. Not just any type of person. They preferred to dine on only the healthy ones. Who would have thought that being healthy was the only thing that could you killed?

It had happened so fast, the moment when the deadly virus had spread. One minute everything seemed fine and the next; people were turning and eating other people. No one knew how it had happened and no one knew how to stop it.

They didn't find out until the CDC that the walkers only went after those that were healthy. If you were sick with anything from the flu or to cancer, then they'd leave you alone. Like you were invisible.

It was useful information, they all agreed, but Jenner didn't let them dwell much on that before he dropped the bomb and said the place was going to blow up. If it hadn't been a talk with Rick and a grenade from Carol, then they would have all been dead.

Now, a year later, there was only five of the original group left, plus the Greene family, Michonne and baby Judith.

The prison was safe, for now. The Governor had been taken care of, but not until after he killed Andrea and Merle. Tyreese and Sasha helped run Woodbury with the help of Karen and a few others. They were on friendly terms with the prison group and things seemed to be going good. Well, as good as things could get when there was dozens of hungry walkers piling against their fences.

Daryl looked down from his spot on the watchtower. They no longer had to keep watch, with the Governor gone, but he still liked to go up there and get a bird's eye view of the prison. Now, he watched as Glenn, Maggie, Beth and Carol stabbed the heads of the walkers that had began to push on the fence and causing it to sag.

All four of them were spread out. Carol was at one end and Glenn on the other, with the other two spread out between them. Together all four of them banged on the chain link fence to lure the walkers to them. Daryl quickly noticed that none of the walkers went towards Carol. They looked in her direction when they heard the noise, but didn't move towards it. It was as if she was invisible to them...

In a matter of seconds, Daryl was out of the tower and walking quickly in her direction.

* * *

Carol banged at the fence with her crowbar, but none of the undead came her way. She paused a moment and watched as Maggie, Beth and Glenn thrust their weapons through the walker's foreheads. None of them had noticed that she hadn't killed anything yet.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she went back to shaking the fence and shouting; hoping some would come her way.

A rough hand wrapped around her bicep and caused her to pause in her yelling. She knew that calloused hand anywhere, even if he rarely touched her with it. Turning, she came face to face with Daryl. Things with him were going a little...slow. Too slow. She liked him, probably even loved him, and she flirted mercilessly with him, but so far she only got a half smile and a half hearted 'Stop' whenever she did.

She was on the verge of giving up any hope that they could be something other than friends. It had been several months since they had first started to get close and nothing had come of it, yet. She was beginning to think he wasn't interested and when he said stop, he meant it.

"You sick?" He asked and his gaze raked over her body. His hand remained wrapped around her arm.

"No," she answered.

"Bullshit." He let her go, grabbed the crowbar from her hands and walked up to the fence. Within in seconds, two walkers had found their way to him. He turned and motioned for her to stand beside him. Without saying anything, she joined his side and watched as he began to walk further down the fence and away from where she stood.

The two walkers' eyes roamed over, but didn't lunge at the fence like she thought they would. From his new spot a few feet down, Daryl kicked the fence loudly and managed to gain the attention of the two walkers. Without a second glance at the woman in front of them, they began to limp and snarl in his direction.

He gave her a pointed look before turning to the walkers and stabbing them through the head with his knife.

She didn't feel sick. She did have a headache, but that was because she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to Judith's crying, and she felt hot, but that was to be expected when one worked outside during a summer day in Georgia.

Once again, his hand wrapped around her arm. "Come on, let's get you inside and checked out by Hershel."

"I feel fine, Daryl," she said as he led her away to their cellblock.

"Well, somethin' is wrong with you if them walkers were actin' like you don't exist." His hand moved to hover over the small of her back as they walked into the cellblock.

"Aw, Daryl, are you worried about little old me?" She smiled at him over her shoulder.

The corner of his mouth quirked up and they stopped outside of Hershel's cell, where the man was sitting and reading an old bible. "Shut-up."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Carol found Daryl lying in his cell fiddling with an arrow. When he saw her in his doorway, he sat up. "Well?" He asked. "What the Doc say?"

"I just have a fever." She shrugged. "It's barely a hundred, but I guess it's still sick enough to become invisible to the walkers." She took a seat at the end of his bed when he moved his legs to give her room. "So, I told Rick that I would go on a run for him tomorrow if I'm still sick."

"What?" The arrow in his hand clanked to the ground and he sat up straighter to look at her better. "By yourself?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "No one else is sick, Daryl. It would kind of defeat the purpose if someone went with me."

"Like hell you're goin' by yourself." He got up from the bunk and stood in front of her.

Carol followed suit, crossed her arms angrily over her chest and glared up at him. "Are you saying that I can't take care of myself, Daryl Dixon?"

He looked lost for a moment. "What? No. It's jus' that anythin' could go wrong out there and no one should go out alone." He knew she was capable of taking care of herself. Hell, he was the one to make sure of it.

"Well, unless someone else gets sick between now and tomorrow morning, it looks like someone will be going out by themselves." She looked at him defiantly and willed him to argue with her. She had also become very stubborn over the months and he would deny it vehemently if anyone said that she got it from him.

Daryl stood silent for a moment and brought his thumb to his mouth to gnaw at the skin there. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He looked down at Carol, who was looking up at him. Without a word, he grabbed her shoulders, hauled her body closer and smashed his lips to hers.

She gasped into the kiss and he used that moment to slip his tongue in her mouth. Surprisingly, she began to kiss him back almost immediately. Daryl thought she'd have pushed him away by now or slap him. Or both.

His tongue swept the inside of her mouth and danced with hers before he broke off the kiss. His hands never left her shoulders and he smirked down at her. "Now, all we gotta do is wait."

Carol returned his smirk with one of her own and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't think that just one kiss is going to work, Daryl."

* * *

**What are your thoughts? Hopefully some of you will stick around to read the second part, which should be up soon! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here's the second and final part! For some reason I feel like this chapter is full of nothing, but I really enjoyed writing it, so that's all that matters. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)**

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_**Part Two**_

The next morning, Daryl woke up with Carol wrapped around him and breathing softly into his neck. His throat felt scratchy and his stomach churned.

"Dammit, Carol," he grumbled. "You got me sick."

Carol stirred beside him and he felt her lips turn up on his neck. "Wasn't that the point of you kissing me?"

He rolled to a sitting position, reluctantly detaching himself from her arms. "I feel like I'm goin' to throw up." He couldn't remember ever feeling like this. Sure, he had throw up before, but that was because he had gotten himself drunk.

"Well, don't do that in here," Carol nudged his thigh with her toe. He grabbed it before she could move to get it out of his way.

"How you feelin'?" He asked over his shoulder.

"A little warm, but that's it." She stretched and slipped her foot from his grasp.

Pressing the back of his hand gently on her forehead, he confirmed that she did feel a little warm. So, she was still sick and she was still going on the run with him.

He climbed out of bed and stretched, but found that had been a bad idea. Black spots sported his vision and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He grabbed the top bunk to study himself. "Let's get some breakfast and get our asses on this run," he grumbled. "The sooner we leave, the sooner I can get my ass back to bed."

Carol chuckled and climbed out of the bed. "Hey, it's your fault. You're the one who wanted to get sick by kissing me."

Daryl watched as she went to the corner of her cell, tugged her shirt over her head and replaced it with a clean one. His eyes never left her form, even has she slipped out of the sweats she had worn to bed.

"Daryl, you're staring."

His eyes raked over her thin pale legs and finally met her eyes. "You're lucky that's all I'm doin'." He crossed his arms. "There's a few things I'd rather be doin' right now, instead of goin' on this run and all of 'em involve you and me in this bed."

Carol blushed as she pulled on a pair of pants. Hoping into bed with him sounded so good right now, but they couldn't waste the opportunity they had. With them feeling ill, they were invisible to the hungry walkers outside. It would make their job easier and it put them in less danger.

After she was completely dressed, she turned to the night table by her bunk and grabbed the knife that sat there. She never went anywhere without it, not since Daryl had given it her several months ago.

"Ready?" She asked.

"As I'll ever be."

* * *

Thankfully, after picking at some of his food and drinking a cup of watered down coffee, his head felt a little clearer. His skin still felt hot and his throat scratchy, but at least now he didn't feel like he was going to puke his guts out.

Beth handed him a list and quickly scuttled back from him. The group had made sure to keep their distance from the two, which Daryl couldn't understand. They should want to get sick, the walkers wouldn't get at them, then. But even in this new world, no one wanted to become ill and Daryl couldn't blame them. It sucked.

Carol was waiting by one of the trucks they had acquired while at the prison, an empty book bag secured to her back. Minutes before she had been at the fences making sure that she was still sick enough to go on this trip. None of the walkers paid any attention to her, no matter how loud she had yelled at them.

"We're goin' to make this quick," he said when he walked up to the truck. He coughed into his elbow and groaned. "I fuckin' hate this."

"I feel fine," she smiled climbed into the passenger's side and watched him climb in as well. "Hershel said I still have a fever and it's still enough for those things not to notice me."

"Ain't you lucky," he grumbled and started the truck. Carl opened the gate for them and in a matter of minutes, they were on the road. They past several walkers on their way to the small town a few miles away, they looked at the truck as it drove by, but to them it looked like it was driving itself.

Daryl smirked. It looked like this run was going to go by fast and he'd be in bed in no time. Maybe he would be able to convince Carol to take care of him, since she said she was feeling fine and all.

The town they pulled into several minutes later had been a small town before the outbreak. It had probably only had a population of a couple hundred and it was mostly hidden by woods. Three months ago, Glenn and Maggie had happened across it and started to raid the small market in the center of town. It had been untouched and that was where they went to get most of their supplies now.

Next door was a tiny clothing store. It had been nearly picked clean and they ignored it on the way to the market. Daryl parked in front of the doors, grabbed his crossbow from the back seat and joined Carol in front of the vehicle. He also had a bag of his own in one hand and held his crossbow loosely in the other. It didn't look like he'd need it, but he kept himself prepared.

"I'll get the food and you can get the toys that Rick wants Judith to get." Before he could say anymore, he nearly doubled over with a coughing fit. "Jesus Christ!" He swore. "Grab some cough syrup and other medicine if you can. I'll be taking that shit the moment we're behind the prison's fence."

Carol nodded and didn't say anything as she followed him through the doors. The store had been cleared of walkers the first time Glenn and Maggie had visited it, but there were other threats besides walkers now.

She remained silent when he directed her where the toy aisle was before he went to gather what he said he'd get. She hoped he couldn't tell there was anything wrong. She was burning up and she felt dizzy. At first, she had thought it was because of the ride in the truck, but it hadn't let up when they had gotten out of the vehicle. If anything, it had gotten worse.

Maybe she was sicker than she thought.

Finally, she reached the toy aisle and began to throw stuffed animals and other toys into her bag. Spotting a cute pink stuffed elephant on the bottom shelf, she bent to retrieve but when she stood up her vision went momentarily black and she had to grip a shelf to keep on her feet.

Maybe she'd better take a break before she blacked out and hurt herself. Slowly she sank to her butt, bent her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. Thankfully, the world began to spin a little less while she sat there.

* * *

Daryl found Carol fifteen minutes later sitting on the floor, head tilted back on the shelving and eyes closed. He knelt beside her and gently shook her shoulder. "Hey, you all right?"

Her eyes opened a crack and she shook her head. "Head hurts and I'm dizzy."

He placed a hand on her forehead and cursed. She was burning up! "Hold on." He stood up. "I'm going to find you some medicine to take."

"No," she protested weakly. "Can't get any better now. Walkers."

"Fuck, woman." He ran hand through his overgrown hair. "Thought you said you was feelin' fine."

"I was and then...I wasn't."

Daryl paced in front of her. It looked like she had been able to gather some toys and his own bag was heavy with some foodstuff. There was no way she was going to get up and gather more things.

"Stay here," he ordered. "I'll get the medicine and then we're gettin' the fuck outta here and takin' you to Hershel."

"M'kay." Her eyes slid shut.

The pharmacy was located in the back of the store and he didn't even look to see what he was stuffing in Carol's bag, he just wanted to get as much as he could and leave. He did find a couple bottles of cough syrup and added it to the collection.

He came back to the aisle he left Carol and found her softly snoring. His crossbow was slung across his back and he held a bag in each hand. Dropping one of the bags to the floor, he used his now empty hand to gently wake her and pull her to her feet.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

"As long as I have you to lean on." Without another word, she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into his side.

It was slow progress but eventually they made it back to his truck with both bags, his crossbow and Carol.

"Can I put my head on your leg, Daryl?" Carol asked from the passenger's seat. "I'm really tired."

"'Course." He chewed on his thumbnail and watched her get situated on his thigh. "Comfortable?"

She nodded.

"A'right." He started the truck and sped out of there.

* * *

Daryl made it back to the prison in record time and with Carol still sleeping in his lap. Glenn and Carl ran up to the truck to grab the bags and Daryl grabbed Carol. It probably wasn't such a good idea. His legs wobbled under the weight and his head began to swim.

Whose great idea was it to go on a run while sick?

"I got her." Rick offered when he saw that his friend was struggling. "I'll take her to Hershel and you should get checked out, too. You're looking a little green there, brother."

"Shut-" He didn't finish the word and had turned and vomited down the side of the truck. He pressed his forehead against the cool metal of the truck. God, he fucking hated being sick.

* * *

"They'll both be fine," Hershel informed Rick once he stepped out of Carol's cell. "They just need some rest."

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea for them to go out while they were sick," Rick sighed. Taking the blame.

"It isn't your fault, son. Carol volunteered and Daryl wasn't going to let her go alone." The older man set a fatherly hand on their leader's shoulder.

"You're right." Suddenly a smile broke through the normally grim expression of the former sheriff. "Do you think they've finally gotten together?"

Hershel gave him a smile. It was no secret that the two were sweet on each other and everyone was waiting for the moment they would finally become a couple. "I think so. Before I went in to check on them, I heard them arguing. Carol was saying it was Daryl's fault he was sick because he was the one to kiss her."

"About time." Rick chuckled.

"I told them that they should refrain from kissing one another while one of them is sick. Pretty sure Daryl tried to curse at me, but was stopped by a coughing fit."

"Hey!" An angry voice called from behind the blanket covering the cell's doorway. "I can fuckin' hear you two!"

Both men laughed softly and walked away from the cell.

* * *

"Daryl, I'm cold." Carol's soft voice floated up to him, waking him up from his light sleep. His throat still ached, but his coughing had subsided with the help of the cough syrup and he started to feel better. Thank God.

He threw down his extra blanket. He didn't need it anymore, but seconds later, she spoke again. "I'm still cold."

He sighed. "Fine, I'm comin', woman." He slowly climbed down the ladder and crawled over her, so that he laid behind her body and pulled her close. "Better?" He whispered as he used one hand to pull the blankets over him, too.

"Much." She smiled and snuggled deeper into his chest.

He buried his face in her neck and found himself getting very comfortable being wrapped around Carol. "Can't wait until we ain't fuckin' sick anymore."

"Why?" She asked, her voice showing that she was on the verge of sleep.

He nipped her shoulder gently. "I think you know why."

**The End**

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**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little thing and thanks for giving it a chance. I really appreciate it! :)**


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